**Please note: I have received quite a few emails in addition to the comments on this post describing negative experiences with TeacherMatch. While my review of the service was a very positive one and I ran into no issues, I think it is important to also consider the voices of teachers in the field who have used TeacherMatch for practical purposes as opposed to my review purposes.

TeacherMatch is an organization that was founded by four former K-12 teachers and aims to improve the teacher hiring process by making it less subjective and more data-driven. They have developed the "Educator's Professional Inventory" (EPI) assessment which helps employers find the future hires that will offer the most potential for student improvement. Let's take a deeper look!

The EPI from TeacherMatch is based on the research into teacher effectiveness from the last 40 years. When creating this assessment they examined decades of research to try and find the specific aspects of teacher effectiveness that contribute to student growth. I'll let this video take over for a moment to better explain...

Factors that Predict High-Performing Teachers

So, at the simplest level, the EPI is an assessment that teachers can take for districts that are enrolled in the program which will offer them an objective analysis of their skills that relate to teacher effectiveness. These assessment results can then be compared with other future hires to provide a data-driven report for comparison.

That being said, the goal is not to provide teachers with yet another test to worry about, it only takes about 90 minutes and it's not something you need to study for. Instead, it's to help remove subjectivity from the K-12 hiring process, so that those involved in the hiring process can have a more unbiased way to compare candidates.

TeacherMatch's system is currently being used by over 50 districts throughout the state and has met with a great deal of success. And what's even nicer is that the EPI can be an adaptive system, based on a district's need. For example, if a district is finding that teachers who score a certain way on the EPI have been more effective in the classroom than others, then TeacherMatch can adjust the reporting of the EPI to reflect that.

On top of offering teachers a score in the four main areas of the assessment (Teaching Skills, Qualifications, Cognitive Ability, and Attitudinal Factors), the EPI also provides individualized suggestions for professional development.

As any K-12 teacher knows, having to sit through PD that is not helpful for your grade or subject area can be an enormous waste of time. By providing specific skills for teachers to focus on in PD, the EPI can help teachers easily create individualized professional development plans that are specifically aligned to their needs.

Some Suggestions from My Sample EPI

If you're interested in finding out more about how TeacherMatch created this EPI, how they measure "effectiveness," the other services they offer, and the research and data behind this program, this video goes much more into depth on all that:

But overall, the EPI is designed to help districts better compare teacher candidates and to remove biases and subjectivity from the hiring process. It's meant to be an indicator of teacher effectiveness in the classroom, and from my personal experience with the tool, I definitely believe it is a well-constructed, thoroughly-researched piece of assessment. If you're a teacher who is taking the EPI, hopefully this provides a little more information about it, and if you're a district considering using TeacherMatch's services, you canfind out more here.

The opinions expressed in this review are my own.I was not compensated for writing this review.

I am a prospective teacher and have found TeacherMatch clunky and difficult. The pre-filled options have misspellings. Some degrees don't have entries available. And when I put in my license information, TeacherMatch pulled in a completely different certification. I feel very strongly that error cost me an interview for a job for which I was qualified. Every time I see another school district in our state move to TeacherMatch, I groan. I have contacted TeacherMatch about the issues. I was told they would send the suggestions to their developers.

Reply

Mike

5/9/2016 05:06:34 pm

Hi KS,

Thanks so much for the feedback, it's always good to hear from people who are using the service in the field. That's also unfortunate to hear that the system is buggy and hasn't been meeting your needs well. This is definitely good to keep in mind, and I appreciate you taking the time to post here!

Mike

Reply

PF

5/24/2016 01:32:04 pm

I have been in the field of education for 28 years, with several re-locations due to my spouses's career. I have filled out many online applications and have found TeacherMatch to be one of the worst. I ran into all of the same problems KS mentioned. It was not at all appropriate for someone with current licensure in several states. it was cumbersome to complete! Unfortunately, it looks like it will be yet another hoop for teachers to jump through!

Reply

Mike

5/24/2016 01:44:06 pm

Thanks for the feedback as well PF, I've unfortunately heard quite a few negative things about Teacher Match lately, and will be making note of this in the review. Thanks for the feedback.

Reply

Salma

7/23/2016 02:57:59 pm

Can I re do the EPI

Reply

Mike

7/24/2016 12:00:23 pm

Hi Salma,

Thanks for reading. You'll need to contact your school/district/administrator to check on that. Let me know if you have any other questions about the review,

Mike

Reply

Justin

10/31/2016 01:00:15 pm

TeacherMatch is an unmitigated nightmare to use as a student teacher graduating this December. The main website and state-specific website do not align accounts, so you have to make a second account if you want to narrow your search specifically for your current state. Applications stop at the submission bar, and your progress is not saved, so out of the five I have submitted, only one has reached its destination.

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